Tasting Notes
Amber near-reddish in the gas beneath a light yellow head of foam on the nose there is an intense aroma of malt and fruit. EKU 28 is full bodied n the mouth, sweetish but also clean and fresh, before reaching a long, rich, and warming finish.

Ricky’s Thoughts

I see this bottle a lot, but never knew what it was. I just figured it was a Euro pale lager or something light, thin, and with a low ABV. Nope. I was wrong! It’s a Doppelbock and is 11% alcohol by volume. I am not familiar with this beer or this brewery, but am excited to try this. There are a few beers from this brewing company on the list. Oh, and it was fun learning where the 28 comes from. That is the beer’s original gravity. Fun! I don’t have any expectations for this, so hopefully it’s good!

In the Glass: It has a nice amber color… almost red in the glass. The head is thin white, and there is little lace. Looking at the beer next to the bottle makes me want to go to Europe. Oh, and I am sick of beers coming in smaller bottles. I am used to the big bombers, but this one is only 11.2 ounces. Don’t worry, we have about 10 bombers in the fridge waiting to be consumed. The AleSmith Speedway Stout is one I am REALLY excited to drink.

Nose: That smells like a Euro pale lager. Doppelbocks are typically smokey and have a nice “camp fire” aroma, but this is bland, boring, and there are some somewhat sweet notes creeping in. This smells like those cheap high ABV beers from Russia. Before-After is one that comes to mind. If you have never tried that beer, grab a bottle. The label is worth the price of the beer! A second whiff isn’t doing much for me. If the aroma is any inclination on the flavor, I will like it. Beers like this are easy to drink and pack a punch. Let’s see!

Flavor: Yep, that is the flavor I expect. The flavor is sweet, and has a nice finish. But whoa… what happens in the finish. There is the smokey flavors I expect when drinking a Doppelbock. But the flavor is intense, and when I say, “packs a punch”, it does. You taste the 11%. The burp is nice, too. The sweet flavors come rushing back. For only $3.29, you can afford 6… but might only need a few! On my second sip, I swished the beer around in my mouth a little. The carbonation was obvious, and it became almost sour. I would love to see them get that flavor in the beer without the added work!

Mouthfeel: The beer is thin and boring on the front of the palate, but toward the back it really heats up. Not literally… well, the alcohol starts to become obvious. The flavor really hits the back half of the tongue, and on the sides of the tongue at that. As you swallow, the finish is smooth and the spicy smokey flavors take over. Then, my favorite part… the aftertaste.

Aftertaste: I wish more beers had an aftertaste like this. The mouthfeel is thick, and when you swallow the beer becomes sweet, but quickly turns to that expected smokey flavor. Every time I swallow it becomes more dry and more balanced, but the smokey flavor remains. If you want to experience a true Doppelbock, grab a bottle of Cinder Bock from the small batch Sam Adams collection. It is liquid smoke, and delicious!

I didn’t have expectations here, but I love it. It is sweet, loaded with booze, and I can see myself drinking a jug of this stuff. I wonder if they serve this by the jug in Germany… I am sure they do. Let’s go find out. Prost!

EKU 28 – The bottle says: “This world-famous brew has the character and richness to stance for fine sherry or port. Just the right degree of sweetness never cloying; wonderfully aromatic and warming. EKU 28 is the one whenever something good and hardy is needed.”

Rating: 5/5

Sheryl’s Thoughts

Ricky said that today’s beer has an 11% ABV. That’s pretty high! Usually beers that are that high in alcohol content come in a bomber, but this was just a 12-ounce bottle. It’s a doppelbock, which I think I like. I get confused on a few beer styles, and maybe I’m thinking of a dubbel. I’m not sure if they are similar or not. But regardless, this beer has pretty high ratings, so I’m expecting it to be pretty good.

The beer is an orangish-brown color in the glass, and really doesn’t look very thick. There’s a few tiny bubbles floating to the top, where there’s not a whole lot of head. You can see through the glass, so it’s like I said, not that thick. It smells a lot like bread. Not the usual beer bread scent, either, I’m talking a thick wet bread dough type of smell. It actually smells really good. I’m excited to see what this tastes like, so let’s find out!

I’m drinking this after eating some potato chips, so I expected that to affect the flavor, but it turns out there’s no way – this beer is too flavorful to allow that. It’s definitely hot – you can tell there’s a high ABV. It’s got kind of a cinnamon spicy flavor to it, and very boozy. But I like that. The heat really hangs around in your mouth after you swallow. I have only taken one drink, and I still feel the heat in my throat a few minutes later. I really like the taste of this – it’s an excellent flavor. I think the only thing about it I don’t like is the booziness. It’s almost too boozy with too much heat. I would definitely buy this again, but what I said early about being in a bigger bottle… well, this beer definitely doesn’t need that. That would be a lot of booze. And while I’d buy this again, it’s something you really only need one of these every once in a while. The only reason I’m not giving this a rating of 5 is the heat. I think I have to drop 1 star just because of the extra boozy taste. Other than that, it’s awesome.

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About 1001 Bottles

Sheryl and Ricky are both bloggers, but have never blogged together. One day Sheryl sent Ricky a URL to a book titled 1001 Beers You Must Try Before You Die. When Ricky saw that book, this blog was born. So they began a journey of trying all 1001 beers. One bottle at a time, they will search for, purchase, drink and review for your pleasure. From this bottle to the next, bottoms up!